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Sometimes It’s Not the Thought That Counts 返乡送礼大学问

（译注：直译为有时重要的并非心意）

 

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Taking home gifts from America presents a dilemma for overseas Chinese  自美返乡送礼对海外华人而言是个难题

 

George Bao felt like a rich man the first time he flew back to China from America.

鲍乔治（音译）第一次从美国搭机返回中国时，觉得自己像个有钱人。

 

He had so many gifts for his family and friends, he was lugging eight cardboard boxes, in addition to his suitcase. That was back in the 1980s, when airlines didn’t charge for extra luggage.

他带了许多礼物要送给亲友，除了自己的行李箱外，还吃力地拖着八个硬纸箱。那时是一九八０年代，航空公司对超出的行李不会收费。

 

As for what the gifts were, the memory makes him laugh. He has gotten friends and family secondhand clothes scavenged from America yard sales.

至于是些什么礼物呢？想起来他还会笑，因为那些给亲友的礼物是他从美国家庭旧物拍卖寻觅搜购来的二手衣。

 

“My father was so happy,” said Bao, who watches the elderly farmer put on his first Western suit, beaming even though it didn’t fit well. “Anything I brought back from the States was considered special.”

「我父亲高兴极了。」鲍乔治说，他看着这位老农民穿上生平第一套西装，即使不很合身，仍然兴高采烈。「我从美国带回来的任何东西都很稀奇。」

 

Times have changed. Living standards have risen fast – especially in the wealthier coastal areas. Hand-me-downs from America will no longer do.

但如今时代不同了。生活水平快速提升，尤其是在较富裕的（中国）沿海地区。来自美国的旧衣物已经不够看了。

 

A major headache  头痛问题

 

And now that China has transformed itself, Chinese-Americans heading home face another gift-giving hitch. It’s not so much what the gift is but where it comes from that matters, said Bao:

现在中国已经改头换面，华裔美人返乡得面临另一个送礼的问题：那就是礼物是什么不那么重要，在哪里生产反而比较要紧。

 

“They may not all speak English, but everyone in China recognizes those three words. When they see the label “Made in China,” they will think, How come you gave me this?”

鲍乔治说：「中国人也许不全会说英语，但每个人都认得那三个字。当他看到『中国制』的商标，就会想，你怎么给我这个东西？」

 

In other words, buying gifts to carry to China is a major headache.

换句话说，买礼物回中国送人，是个头痛问题。

 

“It really does consume people when they make preparations to go back to China,” said Clayton Dube, associate director of the U.S.-China Institute at the University of Southern California.

「当人们准备回中国时，（送礼）的确让人伤透脑筋。」南加州大学美中学院副院长克雷敦．杜柏表示。

 

Like many visitors to China in the 1980s. Dube once knew just what to get his in-laws. He bought a Japanese color TV in Hong Kong and lugged it on and off trains and buses on his trip to their home in mainland China. Back then, televisions, refrigerators and washing machines were mostly foreign luxury items. Few Chinese families could afford them.

克雷敦．杜柏就像许多曾在一九八０年代造访中国的人士一样，曾经很清楚该带什么礼物给岳家。他当年在香港买了一台日本制彩色电视，于返回中国的家的旅途中，带着它在火车及巴士上上下下。那时候，电视、冰箱和洗衣机大多是外国奢侈品，极少有中国家庭负担得起。

 

Now all manner of electronics are abundantly available in China.

但如今各式各样的电子产品已充斥中国。

 

 

单词发音

 

More Information

beaming [ˋbimɪŋ] adj. 笑容满面的

consume [kənˋsjum] v. 消耗; 耗费（精力或时间）destroy completely

in-laws [ˋɪn͵lɔz] n. 姻亲（尤指岳父母或公婆）

 

 

 

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Giving in good taste  好品味的礼物

 

But giving remains important.

但是送礼还是很重要。

 

“People can’t imagine going back to China without bringing something,” said Dube. “The gift is part of the ritual.”

「人们无法想象不带礼物空手回中国，」克雷敦．杜柏说：「礼物也是礼俗的一部分。」

 

While gift-giving options have dwindled, there are some safe choices. American-made nutritional supplements – multivitamins, fish oil, cod liver oil, gingko extract and ginseng root– are popular.

虽然礼物的选项缩减了，还是有些安全的选择。美国制的营养补品──像是综合维他命、鱼油、鳕鱼肝油、银杏萃取物以及人参等──都很受欢迎。

 

“I always run into people in the same aisles shopping for health supplements before going back to China,” said Jin Ma of California, who, like many Chinese living in America, heads to Costco to pick up large bottles of colorful, chewable multivitamins.

「我总是在相同的（购物）走道上碰到要回中国的人在采买保健补品。」住在加州的马琴（音译）说。她就像许多住在美国的华人一样，会到好市多选购大瓶的彩色可嚼式综合维他命。

 

She used to take back Nike shoes, which were rare and prized.

以往她带回去的是既稀罕又贵重的耐吉运动鞋。

 

“Now it would be so tacky,” said Ma, “because we have so many more styles and choices right there in China.”

「现在耐吉运动鞋太寒酸了，」马琴说：「因为中国的款式及选择更多。」

 

Recent popular choices  近来吃香的礼物

 

Health-related gifts came into vogue in recent years. Their popularity is a sign of rising living standards and health consciousness.

近年来流行和保健有关的礼品。这些礼物受到欢迎是中国生活水平与健康意识提升的迹象。

 

“In the old days, they didn’t have enough food to eat. What are they going to do with ginseng?” said Bao, who picked up boxes of the dried root for his 82-year-old mother from a California [supplier] that targets those bound for China.

「以往人们没有足够的食物，他们要人参有什么用？」鲍乔治说，他为他八十二岁的母亲选了好几盒干参，这是加州一家供货商针对赴中国的人士所销售的产品。

 

Among the most prized are roots grown in Wisconsin– packaged in boxes that say “American” and feature the American flag.

最贵重的一种人参是在威斯康星州种植的，包装盒上有「美国的」字样，还有美国国旗图案。

 

Foreign cosmetics – such as Lancome and Clinique on the high end and drugstore body lotions, even lip balm – also are welcome gifts, as long as they’re not made in China.

外国化妆品也很受欢迎，例如兰蔻、倩碧等高档品以及药妆店的身体乳液，甚至护唇膏，只要不是中国制的都是受欢迎的礼物。

 

And those still scratching their heads can find company on the web, in Chinese-American cat rooms focused on what to get. Many of the suggestions are for American food – dried cranberries or blueberries, pistachios or macadamia nuts, as well as chewing gum and big jars of strawberry jam and honey.

那些还在伤脑筋的人可以在网络上找到同伴，有华裔美人网络聊天室会专门讨论买什么礼物。许多人建议买美国食品，像蔓越莓干或蓝莓干、开心果或夏威夷豆，还有口香糖及大罐的草莓果酱和蜂蜜。

 

 

单词发音

 

More Information

dwindle [ˋdwɪnd!] v. 渐渐减少

nutritional supplement 营养补充品

ginseng root 人蔘

run into 偶然碰到 to meet someone by chance

bound for （准备）前往……somewhere headed for a specific goal or destination

scratch one’s head 伤脑筋; 费思量 to have difficulty understanding something

cranberry [ˋkræn͵bɛrɪ] n. 蔓越橘，小红莓

pistachio [pɪsˋtɑʃɪ͵o] n. 开心果（阿月浑子树之果实）

macadamia [ˌmækəˈdemiə] n. 夏威夷果

 

 

 

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Help can be found!  求助有门

 

One person who goes by the screen name “Mrs. LA” offered a long list of possibilities on ChineseInLA.com: cordless phones, Philips electric razors, Zippo lighters, blood-pressure monitors – all made in America, of course.

一位网络名称为「洛杉矶夫人」的人士在ChineseInLA.com网站上提供一长串礼物清单：包括无线电话、飞利浦电胡刀、Zippo打火机、血压计等──当然都是美国制的。

 

Mrs.LA also suggested “Greetings from America” stamps of each state, collections of state quarters and $2 bills showing the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

洛杉矶夫人还建议各州的「来自美国的祝福」邮票，成套的各州二角五分纪念币，与印有独立宣言签署图的两元美钞。

 

“The most frustrating thing for me was figuring out what to give to people. It nearly ruined my trip,” wrote Mrs. LA.

「最令我沮丧的事情是要想出送什么礼，那差点毁了我的旅行。」洛杉矶夫人写道。

 

Changing times  时代改变了

 

While frequent travelers are at least familiar now with the parameters of what to give and what not to give, others had to learn the hard way.

频繁往返者现在至少知道什么可以送、什么不宜送的界限，其他人就得吃些苦头才能学到。

 

“The village people now have money in their pockets. Many of them have only one child and they can’t wait to spoil them,” said Bao, who recalls the awkward looks after he gave people dresses that had been his daughter’s. “My brother took me aside and told me people don’t need this stuff anymore. If you can’t afford something nice, maybe you should just not bring anything at all.”

「村民现在口袋里有钱了，许多人只有一个小孩，宠都来不及了。」鲍乔治说。他想起当他把女儿穿过的衣裳送人时，别人那种难堪的眼光。「我兄弟把我带到一旁，告诉我人们已不需要这种东西了。如果你买不起好东西，也许根本就不要带东西来算了。」

 

Embarrassed, Bao, a veteran reporter for Chinese-language newspapers, started handing out $100 bills to the children of his immediate family members.

尴尬之余，身为华文报资深记者的鲍乔治于是发送百元美钞给近亲的小孩。

 

The global village effect  地球村效应

 

Yunxiang Yan is an anthropology professor from UCLA who has written extensively about gift giving in Chinese culture. But knowing what to bring has gotten so overwhelming even for him, he now choose not to give any gifts.

阎云翔（音译）是加州大学洛杉矶分校的人类学教授，曾针对中国的送礼文化多所著墨。但即使对他而言，送礼问题也形成巨大压力，因此他现在选择不送礼。

 

“One reason I don’t give gifts is because I go back so frequently, a couple of times a year,” said Yan. “We are living in a shrinking global village with increased communication and traveling. Now going to China is like visiting a next-door neighbor who lives a similar lifestyle. So there is no more need.”

「我不送礼的一个原因是因为我常常回去，一年两三次。」阎云翔说：「我们生活在一个逐渐缩小的地球村中，通讯与旅行愈来愈频繁。现在去中国就像去造访隔壁邻居一样，对方的生活方式和自己类似，因此不需要（再送礼）。」

 

－by Ching-Ching Ni

 

 

单词发音

 

Vocabulary Focus

lug [lʌg] v. 使劲拉；吃力地携带 to carry or pull something with effort or difficulty because it is heavy

scavenge [ˋskævɪndʒ] v. 在废弃物中寻找〔可食或可用的东西〕to look for or get food or other objects in places where people put things they no longer want

hand-me-down [ˋhændmɪ͵daʊn] n. 别人用过的旧东西 a piece of clothing which someone has given to a younger person because they no longer want it

hitch [hɪtʃ] n. 障碍 a difficulty or problem

all manner of (idiom) 【文】各种各样的 every kind of

prized [praɪzd] adj. 被看作最有价值的 considered valuable and important

tacky [ˋtækɪ] adj.【美】【口】俗不可耐的;  寒酸的, 俗气的 of cheap quality or in bad style (informal and disapproving)

vogue [vog] n. 流行；风行；时髦 a fashion or general liking, especially one which is temporary

parameter [pəˋræmətɚ] n. 起限定作用的因素; 界限﹐范围 a set of facts or a fixed limit which establishes or limits how something can or must happen or be done

veteran [ˋvɛtərən] adj. 经验丰富的，老资格的 describing one who has been involved in a particular activity for a long time

 

 

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learn the hard way 通过自己的(痛苦)经验学到 to learn something by experience, especially by an unpleasant experience

spoil [spɔɪl] v. 宠坏，溺爱

immediate [ɪˋmidɪɪt] adj.  最接近的，紧接的 very close in relationship

anthropology [͵ænθrəˋpɑlədʒɪ] n. 人类学

 

 

China: Etiquette of Gift Giving